The only time I've experienced any sort of a lockout was when we were trying to do curbside check-in for Northwest in Detroit. We stood in a huge line, and right as we were at the front some frantic passenger cut in front of us and flipped out for 10 minutes because she thought she was going to miss her flight. When we got to the desk, it was too close to our flight for the skycap to check in our bags. We almost never check bags so we didn't know they aren't actual airline employees and don't have the liberties an actual agent would. We ended up missing our flight, but at least we learned something.

And if anything I would having kids in this situation would be a liability. You need three or four seats and probably want them all together versus a solo passenger or couple who might not mind being split up.

With record numbers of butts in seats these days, along with lower fares making air travel accessible to more people - some of whom have no experience with the process and may require more time than experienced flyers - these situations are probably more likely to occur. It would be nice if the airline polled those in line about being on a flight scheduled to leave soon, but that does not always happen. What about the passenger in such a situation taking the intiative to - calmly - identify themselves to the airline staff? Sure, there may be an agent who snarls (they are pressured in such situations, too) but a pleasant, CALM approach and not a frantic rant can help. JMHO

i've heard of this new law. remember not to vent your frustration with your ticket agent. THEY HAVE NO CONTROL. it is a standard now.

I guess my problem with all of this is that the wait time is related to how many agents are at their desks at a given time. If you arrive very early, but the airline has decided to only pay 3 people to work that shift instead of 6, you are going to be in line twice as long.

It depends on the airport as well...we recently flew out of Bradley at 8 a.m. and the ONE line ot secrurity was very long - they only have 4 security station for all gates. We were there 2 hours before our flight and ended up with 20 minutes to spare before boarding. The people behind us were scheduled for an earlier flight (obviously were not there 2 hours before) and asked the TSA person to allow them to "cut" the line in order to make their flight. He wouldn't allow it and they were grumbling like crazy.

On the other hand, we have flown out of Logan recently as well,and there the airlines people were calling out certain flights with pending departures and then brought those people, who were further back in line, to the front so they would make the flight. Go figure!!

We just had a similar experience because I was checking in with my son and husband. I checked myself in and got my original seat, but 30 seconds later when I checked my son in and husband, their seats had been given away and we were issued seats that were not next to each other. This was due to a 45 minute cut off.

Although it was really annoying (and everything worked out okay due to really nice passengers), I can only really blame myself (& husband) as we should have arrived at least an hour and a 1/2 before the flight (domestic). When we arrive early, everything is so much smoother, especially when traveling with a toddler (full price ticket).

Check out this fabulous website. http://www.flightstats.com/go/Home/home.do
it lets you check out statistics about the flights you are flying and you can also check out security wait times for the airports and terminals you are flying from. Plus, i'm sure it has lots of other handy tools for travelers that I haven't checked.

I presume they are checking luggage...and with checked luggage there is NO WAY you are getting on that plane if you miss the time.

IF you DO NOT have checked luggage, they will (if you beg...NICELY) let you proceed to the gate.

Done this several times and I'm talking about arriving with 20 MINUTES! It is NOT a pleasant experience.

Best way to travel:

DO NOT CHECK LUGGAGE
PRINT YOUR BOARDING PASS AT HOME/HOTEL
ARRIVE EARLY AS POSSIBLE
and...
COMPLIMENT THE SNARLY GATE ATTENDENT BEFORE YOU TRY TO GET YOUR BOARDING PASS!!!!!

IF ALL OF THE ABOVE FAILS....WELCOME TO COMMUTER HELL

I should add to the above....even with your boarding pass printed at the hotel/home....you STILL need to have the luggage there by the deadline.

We flew out of Grand Cayman and due to a previous delay from Little Cayman we got there three minutes before cut time. The people behind us were denied boarding and re-routed with an overnight stop somewhere! To add insult to injury, there were empty seats on the plane. As silly as that might sound, the other side of it is that I work for a lawyer whose wife makes a habit of being late to the airport line because she knows they will pull her out of line to get her flight on time - now that's not fair at all. Also, not sure why someone with children should be given preferential treatment - we all have our reasons for wanting to catch the flight.

How does the lawyer's wife know she will be pulled out of line and given special treatment?

That lawyer's wife is more than a bit offtrack. That may have worked once, or even twice, but to depend on it frequently will guarantee her that one of these times she's going to be left behind.